How do you feel about YouTubers receiving free watches?

It makes no difference to me.

I'd hope I can suss out who the real reviewers are and who the fakes are.

Its part of the game. The only problem really is watch brands thinking they get editorial control for the price of a watch or even a check changing hands.

They get money and the watches. It's their livelihood so they gotta eat. Endorsements don't stop at the watch.

Agreed. I’m sure there are some YouTubers who can easily walk into an AD drop $20k+ go home, do a 10 minute review and receive an email, a day or two later by a random watch company saying here we’ll give you a free watch costing then a Seiko 5. All because their spent $20k.

Sadly you’re right.

Additionally, the people that can't afford to spend thousands on a watch to review generally have smaller channels & won't get the marketing reach the brand wants. Thinking the videos would get more views just because the reviewer might be more relatable than a Teddy (who I don't watch) or a Jody because they can't buy watches costing thousands, is just not a valid thought process.

Public figures like that get so much of those emails and I'm sure they turn down (by ignoring them) many more than they accept the watch and do the video for.

It doesn't bother me if they have received a watch that they can keep. I do expect them to be upfront & honest about this at the start of the review. I will then determine just how much of their review is objective & how much is an embellishment.

For people like Jody (JOMW) I think it's actually in our interest for him to receive the watch he's reviewing. He's proven over a lengthy period of time that he's honest & trustworthy (IMO). Him receiving products means he can review more, as opposed to the embrionic days of his channel where he's beg, borrowing or stealing a watch in order that he can do a review.

Be ok with people getting theirs, unless it directly affects your livelihood or happiness. Happy holidays to all.

I feel bad for people that get stuck with watches. I'd rather box the things back up and send them back then try to extract some meager portion of MSRP from resale. There is a reason that these are so often given away in "contests" or as prizes.

I'm not sure what a manufacturer is supposed to do with a used watch. You couldn't pay anyone with an audience so little for a review, and that's why this is mutually beneficial. Nobody wants to see reviews of a plastic-wrapped watch being draped over a wrist.

It is however very important that the reviewer publicly discloses anything received. It is going to introduce some bias and as long as the audience knows to account for that, all is above board.

It's called marketing. Literally every watch youtuber gets sent watches, and most brands send out review pieces. Happens in every industry

But wouldn’t this actually help the smaller channels get more exposure though?

If you didn't pay for it you're suspect. If you sell watches your statements mean nothing

Free watches would be the only reason I’d even want to do reviews! That and to get more followers than tg something or other, shouldn’t be too difficult. 🌈 mostly kidding 😁

Yes, but that's not a concern of the watch brands, unless they want to create a puppet.

Marketers want & need to have as big a reach as possible within their budgets. The bigger brands don't have time to create a puppet of a smaller channel. They want & require big results now.

The smaller brands may not be able to meet all the demands of a larger influencer, so using a few smaller channels might result in getting one they can manipulate down the line. But, if they aren't savvy to creating a puppet, they still have to use the level of channel they can afford.

It's how the game is played on YouTube and elsewhere and it's also not specific to watches.

It's just more in our faces because watches are what we are enthusiastic about and because some channels are less successful than other at covering up how dependent they are on the sponsorship of the brands.

I was always under the impression that review watches were sent back to the company afterwards. Or is that more of a Tech YouTube thing?

(Notable exception being Linus Tech Tips auctioning away a prototype cooler that the company wanted back lol)

I don't see any problem. Companies send watches to YouTubers that they deem relevant. We who watch it have to evaluate whether the review was honest or not, that is it.

They're preening YouTubers, not war criminals, some have even had a love of watches since pre-lockdown!

If you knew how much Rolex pay for a bit of celeb wrist action, then you'd be well proper angry. Especially the amount they've paid James Cameron to nob around in his toy submarine

The problem of people reviewing something that they have purchased, presumably for their own use, is confirmation bias. They have chosen the item and are already partial, and the fact that they have skin in the game based on ego and dollars makes the likelihood of constructive criticism unlikely.

I recently read some Substack that discussed how a defunct music magazine's editor would never assign reporters to write on music or artists that they liked. I think this is genius.

Actually, going back to the 90's I remember a music writer talking of the utter disdain they had for the stacks of free CD's they got it the mail. They have no investment in them being good, as opposed to the person who'd spent $15 or whatever on the thing.

It may be just me, but when some review begins with "I'm sure you've all heard about X and (they sent me one/ I immediately ordered one) and I am so excited to see it!" I know it's going to be useless fluff.

This is true and all, but you need the word of mouth to spread fast enough to keep the lights on. Waiting for Joe Schoe to enjoy his watch for a decade and make some appreciative comment to the two guys he knows is likely not a sustainable promotion model. Things have to be juiced a little.

The problem come when it is like the "stock forecast" letters sent out in mass. Presumably anyone providing a negative review is cut off from further consideration, so access gets restricted to the most enthusiastice lackeys in a short while.

I’ve never even noticed anyone getting a free watch on YouTube. Although I have to admit I very rarely look at YouTube.

Perhaps a contrarian view, but I appreciate whoever puts up videos of potential watches that I’m interested in purchasing.

Don’t really care if they got the watch for free. I mean, I’m not paying anything to view the video, so why hate on the creator if that’s what it took for them to create the video?

Just be sure you have a good BS detector and don’t fall for things that don’t make sense.

I think only Uber rich people who can afford to buy all the watches they review should be on YouTube. That way, we eliminate the influence of big money brands trying to buy their puppets.

Just like government, only the rich should rule. That way, they’ll be able to take care of all of us without bias and prejudice!

Things being sold via e-commerce with no brick-and-mortar showrooms is indeed a root cause of much of this strange new way of promotion as well.

The vast, vast majority of Youtuber reviews I watch I just turn the sound off and look at the pictures. Some I do listen to are either honestly hyping their own business by educating the public (the Bulbasaur, Maaahk from Long Island) or are entertaining in their own right (Urban Gentry, MWC) or both (Islander Mark again). And even there TGV, at least, refuses free watches.

Those free watches are part of the advertising budget and, thus, the reviews of them are advertising. There's no such thing as a compensated review. That's just advertising not paying you by the word like an honest copywriter. I worked in the field for 15 years and refer to it as "lying for a living" so you know how I feel about it.

I agree. My son and I started a channel so we are in the begging stage 😂. I am ok with reviewers as the good one always have a disclaimer first.

i don't have any channels and dont watch them either.

are people really so naïve to think that pretty much anything they see on the internet of there for their personal benefit. like just about everything consumed by the great unwashed it is being fed to them at a price.

all watches are totally brilliant in every way and would suit everyone, so there... so can i have all my free stuff now please??? GS are especially good imho, just saying...

I don’t care about how they get money or free watches, i only care about tech specs, story behind, brand’s or product’s history they provided 🤣🤣🤣

You have to remember this is their job, why wouldn't they get paid. If it isn't their job and they need to take time to do it when they could be working why shouldn't they get compensated for it. Do your research, use your own judgement and buy what you like not what reviewers tell you to like.

Casiodean is probably not the target demographic, so "they shot themselves in the foot" only very very slightly, it's just a flesh wound.